Roberto Luongo

Director General of the Italian Trade Agency

Roberto Luongo

After graduating in Political Sciences--with special focus on International Studies--Roberto Luongo has played, different leading roles within the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE) since 1982, supporting Italian SMEs abroad and promoting Made in Italy around the world.

Beginning in 1991, his training moved to international markets: he was the Italian Trade Commissioner in Kuwait, Prague, New York (there also coordinating the ICE network in the U.S.A.) and in Istanbul.

Transferred back to Rome, from 2010 to December 2012 he was the Director of the Department for the International Promotion and--in close coordination with the Ministry of Economic Development and the Italian Associations of manufacturing companies--he planned out the Italian Internationalization Programs for the exporting companies based on hundreds of proposals coming from the ICE world network and Italian Embassies in the world.

In July 2011, with the closing of the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, Luongo assumed the role of Executive Director for the newly formed Italian Trade Promotion Agency, and he was appointed its CEO and Managing Director in June 2012.

The Italian Trade Agency www.italtrade.com

The ICE-Italian Trade Promotion Agency is the government organization which promotes the internationalization of the Italian companies, in line with the strategies of the Ministry for Economic Development. ICE provides information, support and advice to Italian and foreign companies.

In addition to its Rome headquarters, ICE operates worldwide from a large network of Trade Promotion Offices linked to Italian embassies and consulates and working closely with local authorities and businesses.

ICE provides a wide range of services overseas helping Italian and foreign businesses to connect with each other: